From: Steve High
Having been at the meeting I would be pleased to add an item of
clarification. The input gas was in fact molecular deuterium. An innovation
that they made a big deal of at the meeting was a device placed inside the
reactor that allowed them to monitor the composition of the circulating gas
in real time, in terms of atomic number. Thus at the beginning of the run
they were registering atomic number 4 (molecular deuterium) and during the
run there was a progressive decline in 4. A transient rise in 3 occurred
(they didn't know if it was tritium or possibly Helium 3) then that level
declined again.
Steve,
First let me thank you for this thorough reporting. This may go down as a
very important event and you witnessed it first-hand.
Second, let me say that the gas at the intermediate stage could have been
Trihydrogen as a third option. This would support a version of Fisher's
theory if the deuterium was giving up neutrons to the "polyneutron" species.
According to that theory 2 or 3 neutrons are unbound, but more neutron -
possibly favoring four to six, can exist as a bound species. What they do
later is only predictable in retrospect.
The item that progressively rose during the run was atomic number 2(they
didn't know if that was atomic deuterium or molecular hydrogen).
Most interesting.
Any speculation from the group as to why that might happen? As an matter of
coincidence or god forbid synchronicity the output of Fisher's polyneutron
theory was molecular hydrogen (IIRC)
You suggestion of molecular H2 as the most likely end product is not out of
the question. Problem is determining the energetics which do not look
promising.
Like any good detective, we should look at all the possibilities. Thus 2
molecules of D2 go to 2 molecules of H2 and a n4 polyneutron. The
polyneutron decays to hydrogen so in the end we have 2 D2 --> 4 H2.
However, this is not energetic without something else - such as a mass
transfer from the nickel matrix. Mass of H2 is 2.0158 amu, mass of
deuterium 2.0141amu so that the net reaction appears endothermic without
mass transfer from the host metal or some other energy input.
Thanks again - this deserves more thought. The polyneutron itself would be
the key - does it gain mass from the zero point field?
This would be a worthy question to Puthoff or Haisch.
